Category: Writing

7 Months. 2 Novels. 3 Genres.

On May 1, 2017 – just 7 months after the release of my debut novel – I launched my second book: The Unity Game.

I had started writing The Unity Game while my debut novel was with my London literary agent. It takes a long time to sell a book, so I was able to complete my second novel by the time I was ready to publish my first one.

Both my novels are literary fiction, but whereas The Woman Behind the Waterfall was magical realism, The Unity Game went further into the realm of the imagination, and ended up bigger, more experimental and more philosophical.

A wild, speculative saga

The Unity Game crosses genres and encompasses elements of thriller, mystery, science fiction, love story, fantasy and magical realism. It is set in 1990s Manhattan, in modern-day London, on a distant planet belonging to an advanced civilization, on a space vessel and in an after-life dimension.

The meaning of life on Earth

The novel explores a range of big themes – love, society, freedom, choice, egoism – however they all circle the one main theme: the meaning of life on Earth. The theme is explored from three main perspectives – from inside the intense Earth life of an investment banker in New York; from a member of an advanced civilization studying Earth from a higher plane; and from a recently deceased lawyer who is looking back on how he lived and what it means from a wider point of view.

The human condition

I chose to explore this theme from these unusual perspectives, as I felt there are endless novels which delve into the “human condition” and examine it from every possible angle. Some of the greatest literature has done this, perhaps starting and finishing with the character of Ulysses, from Homer to James Joyce – with the former employing gods and mythic creatures as plot devices, and the latter delving into the magic of language within the possibilities of the mind. So when I came to write my own contribution to the “human condition” I wanted to create something with an element of originality, and hopefully to capture an angle or provoke a wave of thought that had not been covered before.

Noœ-bouk, Alisdair and David

Thus, the character of Noœ-bouk was born: an energy channeller who is on the brink of death and suddenly has an unprecedented desire to explore beyond its planet and find the answers to existential questions.

The character of Alisdair was born: a brilliant and inquisitive Scottish lawyer who finds himself in the after-life where all his questions can be answered.

And the character of David – a bright and multi-talented Canadian who has given up his dream of space travel and focused on the path of money and thoughtless egoism.

The questions at the heart of the novel lie in the combination of these characters: David – who is (arguably) making all the mistakes a human can; Alisdair – who lived a blameless life; and Noe-bouk – whose civilization has all the answers and yet who still finds itself searching.

A change in genre?

My first novel, The Woman Behind the Waterfall, was literary fiction with elements of magical realism. It was poetic, dreamy and very personal, drawn from my first-hand knowledge of Ukraine and from my own emotions and observations of family life. It was an intense experience writing it, and when I finished, I felt I had given every bit of myself – emotionally, intellectually and creatively.

For my second novel, I wanted it to be a book of ideas, rather than emotions. I had so many worlds and scenarios spilling out of me that when I started the novel, I had no idea what shape they would take. I knew I had some big themes that I wanted to explore through the process of writing, but I did not know whose story they would be.

Personal experiences

In the end, a lot of The Unity Game was based on personal experiences. I started off my career in New York, working for the United Nations and then for the world’s largest law firm. During those years I was deeply impressed (as only a recent literature graduate can be) by the energy and ambition and excitement of the city. That feeling has never left me, and I loved writing about a city that to this day is a big part of my life.

As a daughter and granddaughter of lawyers, the character of Alisdair was a pleasure to write – he was in part based on my own grandfather, and I was fascinated by the idea of how an inquisitive mind would enjoy exploring the after-life – if all the secrets of the Earth and universe could suddenly be known.

And perhaps my favourite character, Noœ-bouk – an energy channeller from a distant planet – came entirely from my imagination, and at the same time, was made possible by all the wonderful stories I have ever read – including extraordinarily good Science Fiction books and novels that are made timeless by the fictional creatures born of the author’s imagination.

And the next book?

For my next novel, I can promise 3 things: it will be literary fiction; it will be bursting with ideas; and it will have something unique that my first two novels haven’t covered. I can’t wait to write it!

A journey into the world of book blogs and book reviewers

As part of my learning curve finding about the modern world of publishing and book promotion, I spent the last few months asking book bloggers and on-line book reviewers to read and review my book; and also making contact with their audiences by writing guest posts and giving author interviews.

There are thousands of book blogs on the internet, and the majority of them cover a specific theme, and have individual submission guidelines. Many of the older, more established book blogs have waiting lists of months to review books, and are monopolized by the marketing departments of the major publishers, who have recognized their value for some time.

So that leaves the hundreds of newer book blogs – again, each with their own submissions policy.

My first step into book blogging was to contact a range of blogs. After hours spent checking guidelines and finding correct contacts and making sure the genres were accepted, I wrote to a handful of book bloggers.

Result: zero.

Absolutely no answer from any of them.

And bear in mind I had only written to bloggers who liked my genre, accepted indie books and were asking for submissions.

So, I did some more research and came across an excellent website that puts writers in touch with book bloggers, and lets the book blogger come to the writer, instead of the writer to the book blogger.

The lovely Kate Tilton has been helping out writers for over 7 years as an author assistant and marketing specialist, and she has a service to offer your book for review to her extensive list of book bloggers.

When she sent out an e-mail to her bloggers, it included details of my book, and what I was prepared to offer blogs – a guest post, an interview, free books for a completion, or anything else I was willing to provide.

She warned me that for my genre, Literary Fiction, there might be a very low response.

I was happily surprised.

Over 20 bloggers were interested in either reviewing my work or featuring me on their book blog.

Over the past 2 months, I have:

submitted my book for 15 reviews

written 6 guest posts

given 4 author interviews

interviewed my own main character from my novel

provided books for 3 competitions

Some of the highlights included –

A wonderful review from Lieze Neven following an interview, with Instagram follow-up

A popular guest post on Magic Realism blog Examining the Odd, with a giveaway for Magic Realism fans

Interviewing my own main character Lyuda, and providing a recipe for Ukrainian honey cake from the lovely Maryann Writes

A guest post on creating fantasy worlds, and author interview on Scott Mullins’ Australian blog This is Writing

A lovely review and interview with Books Direct Online – the very popular site of Lynda Dickson

My favourite parts of Ukraine are the western and south western areas. The countryside is viscerally beautiful and stunningly lush and verdant. When I began writing my first novel, this was the natural place for me to set it – somewhere so little known and yet so rich in culture and beauty.

I tried in my novel to give a sense of the landscapes, but here are some photographs I took while travelling, which shows some of the reason I was so inspired. I hope you enjoy them.

This is a particularly lovely house in a village near Lviv – the largest city in the west of Ukraine.

The householders covered this house with straw for extra heat in the winter.

Here we are looking out of the straw-covered house to the garden and fields below.

This is a typical living room in a house. The walls are covered with carpets and there are sofa beds all around the edges. Several people might sleep in the room permanently, or the beds might be kept for guests.

This is a kitchen with an old fashioned tiled stove. They are incredibly warm and in the winter, the houses can be roasting hot.

This is a typical village lane. The photograph was taken in spring, which is when everything feels like it is growing before your eyes.

Many houses still rely on wells for water, and don’t have regular running water in the houses. This one was both functional and picturesque. The lid on it ensures the water stays clean for all the villagers.

This is a larger well, deeper in the countryside.

And here is the famous black soil, and the pre-Carpathians leading to the Carpathian Mountains beyond them.

I hope you agree it is a beautiful country. It is full of tales and unusual traditions and people who have extraordinary life stories to tell. I found it an inspiring place, and I plan to write more about it.

I’d love to hear from people reading this post. Can you think of any great things you know about Ukraine? Landscapes? Traditions? Literature? Do the photos of Ukraine remind you of other countries?

On Friday, 4th November 2016, I took part in my first public reading. The event was organised by Novel London, a brilliant idea set up by Safeena Chaudhry, where writers read aloud the first chapter of their novels, and book lovers sit back with a glass of wine and soak them up. The events are held all over London, in various picturesque bookshops, and the latest one – the 13th Novel London evening – was held in the Waterstones Covent Garden, a lovely and warm bookshop hidden in Garrick Street, just a minute away from Leicester Square.

The theme of our evening was debut writers with international backgrounds. The Woman Behind the Waterfall is set in Ukraine, where I lived for many years. The writer Amy Kitcher was reading from Blood Will Tell, in her lovely Welsh accent. Mari Reiza, originally from Madrid, was reading from her novel Marmotte’s Journey.

The readings were introduced by another writer, Stephen Marriott, author of Candyfloss Guitar. And even the organiser, Safeena Chaudhry, is a writer – her novel, Companions of Clay, was published in 2015.

Another great element of Novel London is that the readings are filmed and available for anyone to watch after the event.

Reading to a full house

Behind the camera (photo and camera work by Lee Cooper)

With wonderful writers Amy Kitcher and Mari Reiza

A Waterstones dream come true!

Video recordings from this event will be available soon from the Novel London website. In the meantime, go and watch some of the writers from past events reading their work. It’s a wonderful thing!